Wagon Wheel in Ossineke Provides Holiday Support
Looking ahead to where you can get a Christmas meal? Or looking for a place you can drop off a toy for someone in need this holiday season? Look no further than Wagon Wheel Bar and Grill in Ossineke, who are holding their toy drive and will be delivering meals to the community for the fourth year in a row.
Starting in 2019, Wagon Wheel Bar and Grill in Ossineke has provided meals for those in need at Christmastime. It’s an emotional time for the establishment, who enjoys providing the service for the community. Terry Ravitz, who is a co–owner of Wagon Wheel, loves the rewarding feeling he gets from doing something good for the area.
“There’s that feeling of giving back to someone that you don’t know, and it’s just nice that way; it’s just nice to be able to do that,” he said.
Since Ravitz bought the bar in 2019, he’s had the desire to give back to the community. He receives names from the schools of candidates to which they can deliver meals, and on Christmas Eve, gets help from the FFA in Alpena to do just that. The people who receive the meals are not aware they are coming, so the element of surprise is an added bonus.
“They’ll get a knock on the door and say ‘here’s your Christmas meal,’ from the Wagon Wheel, and so yeah, they have no idea that it’s coming,” he said.
They also hold a toy drive each year, where people can come to the bar and drop off toys for those who might need them for the holidays. Anyone can then come and pick up toys if they need help finding gifts for Christmas. Last year, they raised around $3,000 worth of toys. This year, they’re expecting to shatter that number, already around $4,000 thanks to a fundraiser a couple weeks ago.
“I guess the biggest rewarding part of it is when you get a call a couple days after Christmas, saying ‘thank you, thank you, we had no idea we were going to get this, and they’re just happy, you know?” he said.
Next week, The Wagon Wheel will put up their Christmas tree and begin taking toys and gifts to donate for the holiday season.
